Time
by I'm-Modal-Soul
Summary: Minato can't avoid his fate, only postpone it.
1. Purgatory

**1/31/2010**

_We won_

SEES worked together and fought with their lives. We weren't sure if we'd come out victorious but hiding in our rooms, awaiting the end of mankind is not the route we planned. Nyx wanted to destroy us.

_But,_

We are not the humans wishing for the end. Our wills are stronger than what Nyx believed.

I smile, or I thought I have. I'm not entirely sure. My mission, my goal to prevent Nyx being released leaves me exhausted. I know I exist, but I can't feel it. Am I dead? A soul floating in blackness?

"You've won."

I hear a familiar voice speak to me from the black abyss.

"Ryoji?"

"You got what you wished for, changing fate to your liking."

As joyful the news is, I can't shake this feeling, this...empty feeling.

"Where am I?"

A heavy silence followed, making the tension grow within me.

"I'm...dead aren't I?"

"..."

Maybe it's what I've wanted all along. I had no purpose, I shifted from one school to the next, my parents were deceased and I'm forced to fend for myself. I moved forward by chance, not by choice.

Yet, the further I've went, learning the trials SEES and those around me faced, I can't help but fight against this feeling. This incessant need to sleep forever, to lose consciousness forever.

"Ryoji."

"Yes?"

"I can't."

We've won and I know what lies ahead from now on. Regardless, I wish to live, stay close to my friends, friends I've created this year who I can call family.

"I need to return."

"If you leave, another vicious cycle will come for mankind once more."

Leaving on this note would be heartbreaking. I'm not the same teen who entered Tatsumi Port Island wishing to go through another school year and be filed to another school. I've made a promise with friends, bonds I won't ever take for granted. I want to fulfill said promise with them.

"Then give me time, it's all I ask."

"Time?"

"I've signed a contract and took the burden of all responsibilities of my actions, correct?" This abyss I'm in illuminates, a spark off in the foreground. That's when I notice his smirk, understanding my intentions.

"Your will's powerful, the universe itself guiding through you. You gave your life for humankind and your soul shall eventually be used to seal me, never losing your goal."

This dimension grows brighter. Then this light blinds all I can see.

"Your will alone will keep you alive. But know even that has limitations."

"It's alright, I understand my terms."

I finally open my eyes, feeling myself return. I see my comrades, every single one of them rejoicing at my survival. Aigis' the most effected in the bunch. I glance upward to watch Tartarus fade away, to never return. The moon recovers its original shape.

Even if I smile to them all, I can feel it, my time's ticking away like an hourglass.


	2. Limbo

**3/5/10**

Side effects.

The most grueling thing I've faced in my stay here in Tatsumi.

Everyone forgotten about SEES and what we worked hard to prevent. While some connections stayed like Junpei and Yukari, others won't give a second glance. Mitsuru, Fuuka, Akihiko, none of them looks at us more than underclassmen. Aigis runs away when I get near, like I'm the plague. Yet, I'm the only one to retain the tribulations we've fought through. I can't tell anyone else or they'd think I cracked.

...

What a cruel twist.

It's March fifth, graduation day. The last day I can stay here and be alive. The past weeks were struggles, oversleeping to maintain my worsening condition. My eyes look ready to close at any moment if I have a lapse in concentration. My energy's siphoned away with every second, I don't know my limit but it's near.

I tried to visit the velvet room, to give an adieu to Igor and Elizabeth.

But it's gone, leaving a back alley. Tartarus' gone and so is the other entry.

I rest at my desk, my arms supporting my head while looking out the window. The same butterfly I've noticed back when I moved here's leaving my line of sight.

"...I wonder..."

A knock comes to the door, disrupting my thoughts. I questioned who it may be. Everyone should be off to the ceremony ny now.

"It's me, Aigis."

Aigis?

"Can I please come in?"

To not be at the ceremony piqued my interest but not enough to think twice on it. I open my door, obliging her request. I'm glad to be in her presence once again.

"I apologize on my abrupt appearance but I must speak with you." Despite her robotic figure, she holds onto her chest tightly, worrying if the next few words would bring severe damage. Her eyes avoid meeting mine.

"Everyone's forgotten, everyone. SEES, Dark Hour. Who Ryoji was...even me..." Her voice tapers off at the end and now looks at the ground, trying to construct another sentence.

"I'm scared, I'm unsure what would happen to you, if you would leave once again like the last battle."

That's when it hit me.

She suffered too. I haven't consider what she's feeling. I've been focused on myself the whole time and not realizing Aigis' effected in the same way.

Did she run away to avoid knowing if I've forgotten too? Did she not want to face facts?

I tried seeking words for comfort, to ensure such a fate won't happen again. A robot conveying human emotions. She's not at terms to this development yet I see it, another living soul talking to me.

I can not speak. This...vehicle my soul travels in can't last and it's sinking in tar, trying to consume me whole. My words are sinking as well.

"Aigis"

I extend an arm out to her shoulder, looking into her eyes. It fills every fiber in me to not lie, to explain what would come shortly of me.

"That won't happen."

But I couldn't.

I couldn't bear to see her suffer more. To lie to myself and her, what a cruel position I'm in. I force a smile on my behalf, one of the few times where I've truly meant to bring joy to someone else. Aigis looks up, looking relieved but avoiding a smile, knowing it's only us two.

My words were successful, even if they were sugar coated on a wish never coming true. She looks determined.

"Graduation's today." Changing the topic, she continues. "We made a promise, remember?"

The promise I made an effort to keep and what's leaving me here still. I nod to the question.

"Let's go together, maybe the others will recall our promise." I thought I'd be alone, void of friends, keeping a foolish promise only I remembered and all forgotten. To sit in misery, witnessing the bonds created rot away. I would have preferred to die there back then. But my resolve wouldn't allow a quick death, I made a request worth keeping. To have someone close made me not regret the exhaustion I've put myself through.

To have someone close made me not regret the path I've put myself through.


	3. Heaven

Walking wasn't an issue. Quite easy on my part. My energy sapped further and further, a poisoned old man with no antidote. Before I realized, I'm laying down on Aigis' lap while I stare up at the sun. The occasional view of my close friend enters my vision. I don't feel down or exhausted anymore. This high I'm feeling must be what Olympic champions get when they crush a record. The satisfaction of achieving their goals.

A hush breeze flows by, assisting in this floating state I'm under. My mind's telling me to close my eyes, to give me a break but I mustn't, knowing what follows if I do. I'll use up every single time available to sustain this tranquil moment.

"This is the first time I'm experiencing Spring." Aigis looks up, admiring the work of nature around us. Leaves covered the branches, cherry blossoms gliding through the air. The temperature's cooperative to be outside and embrace it.

"The meaning of life, I finally found what it means to me." She looks into my eyes, smiling while she continues. "All things must come to an end and one must accept the inevitable. Every living thing will vanish in time. Humans have the luxury to be a species living long enough to have a purpose but not enough to master their domain. Thus, they spend time wisely to what they cherish most until they die. I originally been created to fight shadows and protect others on orders. But, after trying to stop the fall and fearing I may never see you again, I concluded to protect you, to save you from harm, be the one to lend you strength in your hour of need. Others can do the same but knowing I've put in my entire efforts..."

Until after the battle with Nyx, I've never seen tears or felt them. Yet, they dropped in dissonance, splashing upon my face. Aigis' crying, and I console her, resting a hand up on her cheek to ease her.

There's much to explore for her, experiences to be had. Aigis may not understand the everyday struggles humans go through. But she can walk with us. Talk with us. The world's in her hands and she can conquer anything standing in her way. Life extends farther than what's tied to a living organism. My only regret is her meaning won't be fully realized. She can't prevent me from dying. Even if this event weren't to happen, in time, every single one of us will pass on.

Ah, what a scary thought to have, the realization one will die.

But that's the beauty of it! The options to be productive, hedonistic or frightened! There's no right answer!

I've met many who searched for their purpose. I'm glad to see them fulfill it despite their struggles from circumstances. From an alcoholic monk, a girl readjusting to her family's problems, a dear friend who passed away and left without remorse, inscribing the perfect story he's been waiting to make until he passed.

_Everyone has a goal or a mission in life, it's up to them to achieve it._

Her cries slows to a halt, trying to get a hold of her emotions. She cradles my hand with her own, accepting my attempts to calm her.

"You have to find what means the most to you Aigis. Once you find it, pursue it and never let go." This was the closest to foreshadowing I can muster. She locked in on me, analyzing my words to search hidden meanings.

Thankfully, Aigis turned her head to the side, towards the exit. Even in this dazed moment, I hear footsteps and the unmistakable "YO" Junpei makes.

"Everyone!" The girl holding me in this blissful state spoke in shock, frozen in place.

An ecstatic bark shows Koromaru's together.

They remembered.

I smile, happiness overflowing. Our promise rooted itself past the effects of Nyx and the dark hour. I'm glad, one of the happiest moments I've felt through my entire life.

Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko-senpai, Fuuka, Mitsuru-senpai, Aigis, Koromaru, Ken, Shinjiro-senpai, I'm glad I met you all on this journey.

My eyelids have a mind of their own, my brain slowing down, cradling my instincts to nap now. Voices fade in the background, my senses dying one by one.

My last vision was the blue butterfly. I encountered it outside my window and when I first came to Tatsumi Port Island.

...

!

I understand now. Maybe this is fate. Everything coming together for this moment. If only I had more energy.

Sorry everyone...

_My time's up._


End file.
